Assessment of protection strategies for estuarine beaches: a case - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Assessment of protection strategies for estuarine beaches: a case study of Cliffwood Beach, NJ

Karl Nordstrom: Marine and Coastal Sciences Jonathan Miller: Grad. Program in Oceanography Tracy Youngster: Grad. Program in Ecology and Evolution

Problem: Estuarine beaches erode at high rates but are often ignored Many estuarine coastal towns have no federal/state protection projects Towns often lack scientific expertise or data Goal: Establish working relationship with a Raritan beach community Gather data on beach processes and shoreline change Help with decisions about threatened infrastructure and habitats

100 m N Seawall Whale Creek Park Jetty Critical Zone Net sand transport Dune

Situation: Longshore currents move beach sand away from park and road Seawall prevents delivery of new sand Beach and dune eliminated at east end (Critical Zone) Overwash and flooding occur; road will soon be undercut

Site: Cliffwood Beach, NJ

Information needs/methods Landform heights and volumes and plant species Pros and cons of shore protection alternatives Municipal needs and capabilities Initial meeting: Dec. 2017 Presentation of results: Sept. 2018

100 m

N Fill area Jetty Backpassing direction T1 T3 T4 T5 T6 T2

Suggested management alternatives: Initial beach nourishment plus backpassing (recycling existing sand) Nourishment of 17,480 m3 Backpassing of 700 m3 yr-1 Sand fences, vegetation plantings in dune American beach grass seaward of fence; panic grass landward Bulkhead is alternative as primary protection to protect road Low-cost buried geotube is alternative as backup to fill Field methods: 6 Representative transects Bimonthly GPS topographic surveys for topography Continuous 1x1 m2 quadrats across shore for vegetation

Outcomes

Implications External funds required for initial fill Municipal equipment for backpassing Backpassing makes project sustainable Practical value for the township Criteria for obtaining external support Alternatives using their local resources Practical value for Rutgers: MS thesis for Miller Sampling expertise for Youngster Advance in Nordstrom research on backpassing and hard cores in dunes Publication for all participants